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Ella Enchanted
''Which is better? BOOK Background Information ''Ella Enchanted was originally a book by Gail Carson Levine, based on Cinderella. It was her first published book (in 1997), and won the Newbery Honor. In 2004, Ella Enchanted became the loose base for the movie of the same name, directed by Tommy O'Haver and starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy as Ella and Prince Char (respectively). What's the difference, and which is better? Let's find out! Book Summary When Ella was born, the fairy Lucinda blessed her with the gift of obedience. She couldn't refuse a command, no matter how she felt about it. Ella discovers that her cook, Mandy was bother hers and her mother's fairy godmother. Unfortunately, she learns this news too late as her mother has already died due to illness, and illness that she could have been cured of if she had eaten all of the enchanted soup that Mandy had given her. At her mother's funeral, Ella is overcome with emotion and flees after her father, embarrassed by her display, tells her go somewhere else. She meets Prince Char while she is away and the he tells her how much he admired her mother. Ella's father Sir Peter is not a kind, loving man and is more concerned with material wealth than he is with his own daughter. He was a poor man when he married her mother and has blown through all of the riches that he gained through marriage. He is a dishonest trader who will do anything to be wealthy and decides to marry Dame Olga, an ugly, unkind woman of great fortune. However, at their wedding, the fairy Lucinda bestows them with the gift of eternal love and, finding that he can not keep anything from his beloved, Sir Peter tells his new bride of his financial status. It is at their wedding that Ella sees Char again and the two joke and play with one another, sliding down the bannister of a staircase. Dame Olga is enraged by this and sends her daughters Hattie (a jealous, cruel girl) and Olive (a greedy idot) off to finishing school with Ella in tow. Finishing school is awful for Ella as she is clumsy and strong-willed but must follow every order given to her. However, unlike the Ella from the movie who seems to follow her commands effortlessly as if possessed, this Ella must put a great deal of effort into following the commands of her instructors. The only good thing about finishing school is Ella's new friend Areida, who is teaching her Ayorthian. However, Hattie has discovered enough about Ella's curse to know that she must do anything that she is told and, in order to hurt Ella, she orders her to stop being friends with Areida. Unable to hurt her only friend, Ella runs away from finishing school. She meets some elves and stays with them for a period of time before setting back off on her way to find Lucinda, the fairy who cursed her with obedience, at a giant's wedding. She runs into Ogres on her way there and manages to convince them to leave her alone by mimicking their persuasive style of speaking. Char and his knights arrive on the scene and are amazed as Ella convinces the ogres to bind themselves so that the prince can take them away. She travels to the wedding with Sir Stephen, one of Char's knights, and finds the fairy Lucinda. She asks her to take away her curse, but instead the fairy tells her to be happy that she's obedient. As Mandy later says, Ella then went from being part puppet to all puppet. She returns home and Mandy is enraged by this new development especially as Sir P is trying to marry off Ella to an elderly duke who looks like a greyhound dog. Mandy tells Ella to feel how she wants to feel and she goes back to having a little bit of free will. Char has gone on a long trip and keeps up a letter correspondence with Ella where, at the bottom of each letter, he asks her if she is old enough to marry him. Ella replies by saying that she is either too young, too old, too fat or too tired. Ella has fallen in love with Char and wishes that his proposals were real, but she is certain that it is a joke. While this correspondence is going on, Ella is being used by Dame Olga as a maid and a cook's helper. Thankfully, Ella is able to work under Mandy in the kitchen but it is still a miserable existence, the only joy in it coming from her letters from Char. Finally, Char writes to Ella saying that he loves her and would like nothing more than to marry her. She is momentarily ecstatic, but then she realizes that she could never marry Char because she would be a constant threat to his safety. All it would take was a command ordered by one of his enemies and she would have to kill him. Because of this, Ella writes a letter to Char that seems to be from Hattie that tells him that Ella has married an old, wealthy duke and that their correspondence had been a big, cruel joke. Ella is pained as she reads through her enchanted book (given to her by Mandy as in the movie) and sees a journal entry by Char that declares his anger towards her and his hatred of her. Char announces a ball to pick a bride and Ella with some help from Mandy and Lucinda (who has learned here lesson about gifts after turning herself into a squirrel for six months, but will not take away Ella's curse as it is "big magic") is disguised so that she may attend. She says that she is Lela from Bath and Char is enchanted by her. He tells her that he will never love again but asks her to marry him. Lela refuses and is about to leave when Hattie pulls of her mask and Char sees that it is Ella underneath. She runs away from him but he follows her to her house and asks her to marry him. All around her, people tell her to say yes and Ella feels the pressure to obey but refuses because she loves Char too much to let harm come to him. Realizing that she has broken the curse, Ella agrees to marry Char and they live a long happy life together where she says "no" as often as she pleases. Movie Summary Text from Wikipedia "In the kingdom of Frell, baby Ella (Anne Hathaway) is given the 'gift of obedience' by a misguided and obnoxious fairy called Lucinda (Vivica A. Fox). This is more of a curse, making Ella do anything she is told to, but only Lucinda can reverse it. Ella's mother tells Ella keep the curse secret; after she dies, only the household fairy, Mandy (Minnie Driver), knows about it. Several years later, Ella's father (Patrick Bergin) remarries to a wealthy socialite, Dame Olga (Joanna Lumley), who dislikes Ella. Her spoiled daughters Hattie (Lucy Punch) and Olive (Jennifer Higham) notice Ella's obedience and begin making her life miserable. Ella stumbles upon Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy), the handsome heir who will soon take the throne, as he's being pursued by his fan club of besotted young women. He invites Ella to the Coronation Ball, but Olga intercepts the invitation. Hattie and Olive, fan club members themselves, are overcome with jealousy. They force Ella to insult and cut ties with her best friend Areida (Parminder Nagra). Ella cannot bear her situation a moment longer, and resolves to find Lucinda. Mandy helps by lending Ella her boyfriend Benny (Jimi Mistry), who she accidentally transformed into a talking magical book that can show people in their current surroundings. During her journey, Ella encounters an elf named Slannen (Aidan McArdle), who wants to be a lawyer instead of an entertainer as the laws now require. They are both captured by a group of ogres, who want to eat them. Prince Charmont rescues them and accompanies them to a wedding in the land of giants, where Ella hopes to find Lucinda. En route, Ella opens Char's eyes to the cruelty of the laws oppressing elves and giants established by the acting ruler, Char's uncle Sir Edgar (Cary Elwes). Char invites Ella to visit the palace's Hall of Records and find Lucinda faster. But Edgar's talking snake, Heston (voiced by Steve Coogan), is spying on them. At the palace, Heston tells Edgar about Ella's obedience, which Hattie confirms when Edgar offers her Char's hand in marriage. Knowing that Char intends to marry Ella, Edgar orders her to kill him when he proposes, and tell no one. Edgar also reveals that he murdered Char's father. To save Char, Ella asks Slannen to tie her to a tree and to get the giants to help. Ella writes Char a letter, saying she is leaving permanently and cannot explain why, which breaks his heart. Lucinda then appears before Ella, who asks her to undo the 'gift' of obedience. Lucinda, offended, tells Ella to remove it herself. She unties Ella, gives her a fancy dress, and tells her to attend the ball, where Char almost immediately takes her to the Hall of Mirrors and asks her to marry him. Ella is about to stab him with the dagger Edgar provided, when she realizes Lucinda has provided the answer: looking into a mirror, she says, "You will no longer be obedient!" She drops the dagger and Char sees it. Edgar is spying on them, and before Ella can explain, he orders the guards to lock her up, to be executed in a few days. Meanwhile, Slannen, the giants, and the ogres all sneak into the castle to rescue Ella. They find out that Edgar is poisoning the crown Char will receive during the ceremony. Ella and her allies burst in just in time to stop him putting it on. Edgar and Heston call for the knights and Red Guards, and a battle ensues. Ella explains everything while fighting alongside Char. When Edgar's forces lose, Heston tries to bite Char, but is stopped by Ella. Caught trying to kill the prince, Edgar admits to the crowd that he killed the King, but says only he deserves the crown. Then, carried away by his own rhetoric, he puts it dramatically on his own head—and promptly collapses from the poison, although he survives. Char and Ella kiss; her stepsisters arrive and order her to stop, but she is delighted to refuse. Char once again asks Ella to marry him, and she agrees: 'Now that I'll do.' The movie ends with their wedding and a musical number." What's the Difference? *Enemies **Book: Lucinda, stepmother and stepsisters **Movie: Lucinda, stepmother, stepsisters, Heston, Edgar *Conflict Resolution **Book: Ella struggles, but manages to say "no" because it is in Char's best interests. **Movie: Ella orders herself not to be obedient. *Movie has Benny, Edgar, and Heston; book doesn't *Can anyone think of any more? *The book and the movie are so different that it is difficult to pinpoint all of the individual differences although the movie is catered to a much younger audience while the book can easily reach people of all ages. The addition of finishing school in the book illustrates how much Ella is truly her own enemy as she is prey to the curse of obedience, whereas in the movie, Char's Uncle has been invented to give a physical villain. The creation of this villain makes a story of bravery and self discovery seem silly and shallow. Which Is Better? Feel free to debate and/or comment! Which is better: the book or the movie? Book Movie Category:Kids Books & Movies Category:Newbery Honor Category:Awards